Reward assessment

In addition, the decreasing scientific hteracy among the U.S. general pubhc, in the national media, and in state and federal government raises concerns over the society s ability to assess and balance technological risks and rewards objectively, and to put them in perspective with other needs. 

Economic evaluation is an assessment of the probable benefit or reward of a proposed course of action, relative to other choices. Although the benefit usually takes the form of a financial return, in environmental management, transportation (qv), health care, and other social areas, the benefit may be a social gain instead. Some method is then developed to translate the social gain into a monetary equivalent. The discussion herein is limited to the financial return expected from some type of production or service activity. 

Numerical Measures of Risk Without risk and the reward for successfully accepting risk, there would be no business activity. In estimating the probabilities of attaining various levels of net present value (NPV) and discounted-cash-flow rate of return (DCFRR), there was a spread in the possible values of (NPV) and (DCFRR). A number of methods have been suggested for assessing risks and rewards to be expected from projects. 

Itzhak Y, Ali SF Repeated administration of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) to mice assessment of the sedative and rewarding effects of GHB. Ann N Y Acad Sci 965 431-60, 2002... 

Office of Technology Assessment. Pharmaceutical R D costs, risks, and rewards, OTA-H-522 (February 1993). 

We expect reward to be pleasurable and it is assessed in animals by their willingness to seek and approach something, such as a lever linked to either food dispensing or brain... 

The tests generally involve some form of maze but the simplest is the passive avoidance test. In this the animal learns that in a certain environment it will be punished with an electric shock for some particular action, like stepping onto a special part of the floor of the test chamber. The test of memory is how long the rat avoids (remains passive to) making the movement that will initiate the shock. Of course, drugs that reduce the animal s anxiety also modify the response. Using a maze in its simplest T shape, the animal is placed at the base of the vertical arm and a food reward at the end of one of the horizontal arms. Clearly the animal has to learn which arm contains the reward. Memory is assessed by the time taken for a food-deprived animal to reach the reward and the number of false arm entries. This simple system can be made more complex by introducing many more arms and branches but the principle is the same. 

The quality of the broilers was assessed in the slaughterhouse, with special attention being paid to the presence of blistered briskets and wrong legs. Both criteria give better results for the broilers from the house with the insulated floor. However, better quality is not rewarded by higher prices, so that insulation does not yield any direct extra profits. Economically, therefore, there is no incentive to insulate the floors, and more information is needed on this subject. 

An example from another arena often helps people in the pharmaceutical industry understand the concepts around dynamic modeling and risk assessment incorporating uncertainty. The petroleum industry has used these approaches for years to help evaluate the risks and rewards associated with a portfolio of investment opportunities. At a 10,000 ft view, the structure inherent in the petroleum industry can be depicted as shown in Figure 35.11. 

Stimulation reward thresholds, as assessed by the intracranial self-stimulation paradigm, an effect that indicates rewarding effects of nicotine in rodents (Huston-Lyons andKometsky 1992). 

Many measures in the areas of employee protection and environmental protection are not initiated until a substance or a preparation is classified and/or characterised as being hazardous. If existing data are not adequate to assess a substance, this initially has no consequences. This means that the present system leads to completely inappropriate and initially inconsequential gaps in knowledge for existing substances. It rewards the substance manufacturer, who does not invest in collecting substance data, structurally. 

---